This is officially the hottest day in Shanghai in at least 145 years

Apparently, weather forecasters weren’t kidding about this being a rather hot week.The Shanghai weather bureau issued its first red alert for heat of the year today with temperatures hitting a record high of 40.9 degrees Celcius at around 2 p.m. in Xujiahui.That’s the highest temperature ever recorded at the Xujiahui weather station, which was established all the way back in 1873. The previous high was 40.8 degrees, recorded during the sweltering summer of 2013.Unfortunately, these scorching temperatures are expected to continue into the weekend with a bit of a respite coming next Tuesday. In the meantime, we advise that you head over to your closest IKEA and wait out the heat wave as best you can.